Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath. Also includes the Ben Alder area hills between Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan.
Sunday's Forecast
Gale force, walking arduous
Considerable buffeting, walking into the wind will be strenuous on exposed terrain, stronger gusts may knock you off your feet. 40 to 55mph.
Patchy rain or drizzle
Rain on and off, or generally drizzly - total amounts small, but may be persistently damp, especially where hills are shrouded in cloud.
Cool to mild
Air temperature 5 to 10C on higher terrain. Comfortable temperatures on lower terrain, but feeling chilly if exposed to wind higher up, especially if stationary. Pack extra layers.
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Gale force, walking arduous
Considerable buffeting, walking into the wind will be strenuous on exposed terrain, stronger gusts may knock you off your feet. 40 to 55mph.
Patchy rain or drizzle
Rain on and off, or generally drizzly - total amounts small, but may be persistently damp, especially where hills are shrouded in cloud.
Cool to mild
Air temperature 5 to 10C on higher terrain. Comfortable temperatures on lower terrain, but feeling chilly if exposed to wind higher up, especially if stationary. Pack extra layers.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Sunday 27th September 2026
Last updated
Sat 26th Sep 26 at
4:30PM
Summary for all mountain areas
Southerly winds up to gale-force on high terrain, including a swathe of particularly powerful winds and gusts moving across England & Wales during the day. Rain generally sets in from the west with some heavy falls, a band of more intense rain for a time. Cloud increasingly covering many hills.
Headline for Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Upland gales, rain develops, heavier south.
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southerly 40-50mph, powerful gusts over high Cairngorms, 60mph. Only later toward evening lessening to 30-35mph, shifting southwesterly.
Effect of the wind on you?
Challenging conditions most of the day, notable effort to maintain balance in exposure; significant wind chill.
How Wet?
Increasingly rainy afternoon, heavy falls
A little light rain around Drumochter, but most hills dry in morning. Rain becomes more frequent, heavy falls forming, and during afternoon sets in for several hours with sustained heavy falls, particularly south Cairngorms.
Cloud on the hills?
Variable, increasing afternoon; clearest north slopes
Cloud banks drift over the high Cairngorms, a few breaks but may also lower towards 900-1000m on south slope at times. Through afternoon, blanket cloud lowering to shroud high terrain for a time, bases as low as 700m south during heaviest rain.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
50%, lowering to 20%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Patchy sun, more often north Cairngorms, increasingly cloudy afternoon. Very good visibility, deteriorating though afternoon on high terrain.
How Cold? (at 900m)
7C, rising slightly, locally 9C north Cairngorms, lowering towards 6C late. Feeling like 0 to -3C in direct wind.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Monday 28th September 2026
Last updated
Sat 26th Sep 26 at
4:30PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 20 to 30mph, strongest gusts around higher Cairngorms, tending to lessen in afternoon.
Effect of the wind on you?
Blustery, starting to affect comfortable walking on some exposed high tops and ridges; feeling rather cool.
How Wet?
Rare if any showers
Chance of an odd brief shower, mainly hills near Drumochter.
Cloud on the hills?
Mostly little
Patchy cloud briefly around some hill slopes in the morning, plus local mist in some glens around dawn. All dispersing to leave the mountains generally clear.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
80%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Sunshine and patchy fair-weather cloud. Visibility excellent.
How Cold? (at 900m)
4C rising 7 or 8C. Feeling like -2 to -5C in the wind on higher areas in the morning.
Freezing Level
Above the summits. Local pockets of slight frost at dawn in sheltered glens and some corries.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Tuesday 29th September 2026
Last updated
Sat 26th Sep 26 at
4:30PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southeasterly 40 to 60mph, strongest speeds over high Cairngorms, but also turbulent gusts downslope to north.
Effect of the wind on you?
Challenging walking conditions on exposed terrain, but sudden buffeting also to some lower elevations.
How Wet?
Risk of rain developing south
Mostly dry start, but spots of rain likely develop mainly over southern slopes, becoming drizzly where in cloud, risk with time pulses of steady rain; very little may reach northern areas.
Cloud on the hills?
Most south and forming over tops
Banks of cloud forming soonest on southern slopes, tending to develop increasingly with a cloak of cloud rolling over the higher Cairngorms, whilst toward Monadhliath may see very little until later.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
50%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Early weak sun giving way to overcast skies, staying brighter north. Good visibility then hazier.
How Cold? (at 900m)
5C rising to 10C, increasingly humid; may rise slightly more by evening onward.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Planning Outlook
A changeable prospect during the week ahead. A better day on Monday as higher pressure expands in from the south, but showers and brisk winds continue toward northwest Scotland. Strong southeasterly winds by Tuesday, widely gales on mountains with turbulent downslope gusts toward the west; a risk of rain developing from the south during the day, becoming heavy later. Blustery south-southwesterlies into Wednesday and Thursday, showery in the west. Higher pressure tends to expand further north again into early October. Mostly mild temperatures.